


syllabus

by knoir (bchemicalromance)



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, also ooc bc. hilda wouldn't do this but, i literally have no idea how this works, ooc bc the game isn't out yet and i don't really want to watch any gameplay videos either, process of elimination, process of elimination lol, sorry hilda, when your students try to s rank pre time skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 22:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19798861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bchemicalromance/pseuds/knoir
Summary: hilda joins the blue lions for a month, much to byleth's dismay.





	syllabus

**Author's Note:**

> inspired to write this by [this](https://that-mystic-knight.tumblr.com/post/186109408349/me-if-any-of-the-characters-attempt-to-flirt-with) and was motivated to finish it by [this](https://luzeleor.tumblr.com/post/185717478305/so-my-friend-thought-their-a-support-pre-time-skip)
> 
> alternatively titled 'hilda looks at byleth for emotion but there is nothing there'

It was a trying month for Byleth, to say the least.

His students had found new ways to crawl under his skin, even if they were doing it unintentionally at times. Felix and Sylvain had an ongoing war to see who was stronger, and Ashe was starting to join in to encourage their bad behavior. Dimitri was seeming further away from him and his housemates. If Byleth could find the time, he would invite the house leader to tea and what would have been a long, much needed conversation. 

And then there was Hilda. 

Hildebrand Valentin Goneril, the name written by Rhea on the roster that was passed around amongst the teachers, on it a list of names of students who had volunteered to temporarily switch houses. At the end of the previous month, Manuela had suggested for students to spend a month in a different house than the one that matched their native lands. 

"It'll be good for them, and good for Fódlan!" 

Byleth left the matter alone as his interest was not piqued enough for him to push forward. But, when he walked into the Blue Lion's classroom on Monday at the top of the month, he found pink pigtails looking around the room decorated in blue. 

"May I help you?" Byleth asked. The pink haired girl turned around, smiling when she saw the source of the sound. 

"Oh!" The student exclaimed. Still smiling, she strode over to him. "You must be Professor Byleth!"

Byleth nodded stiffly. "And I presume you are Hildebrand Valentin Goneril?"

"Please," her smile strained, but she quickly relaxed it. "Hilda is fine."

"Hilda," he repeated, "welcome to my class."

He outstretched his hand, and she shook it tenderly. "Time currently does not allow us to discuss your abilities at length," Byleth said, hearing the commotion of students outside. "Would you like to have tea? Perhaps this afternoon, if not too short notice?"

"No, Professor, not at all!" She said, before clarifying. "No, this afternoon would not be too short notice because," she paused to take a deep breath. "Yes, I would love to have tea with you."

Hilda's gazed lingered on Byleth longer than he would like. "Good," he cleared his throat. "Then it is settled." 

With that, he went to his desk and began prepping for his class. As if on cue, the heavy oak double doors busted open, revealing Felix and Ashe deep in discussion, Annette and Mercedes looking over their shoulders, to find Ingrid dragging in Sylvain by his ear. Dimitri came in last, following in Dedue. Hilda watched the class expectantly as they all calmed into their seats and looked up at their professor. 

"Good morning class," Byleth began, as he did every morning. "This is Hilda, from the Golden Deer. She will be joining us for the month, so do make room for her in all of your upcoming antics." His house chucked at the last part, glad their professor still remembered to joke around. "Hilda, please sit."

When Byleth dismissed his class for lunch, none of his students paid mind to Hilda's lingering. Except for Byleth, of course, who felt her gaze even when he did everything he could to avoid it. 

"If you would like," Byleth said, shuffling through his papers, "you may start at the gardens. I have to clean up in here." He looked up at her to ensure she was listening, and he found a devious smile on her face, on that quickly transformed into the smile she brandished earlier. 

"As you wish, Professor," she said, before turning away in such a manner that made her pigtails whip with her. She gathered all of her things and swayed out, throwing a "see you there!" over her shoulder. Byleth didn't make note of her sweet voice, rather more focused on organizing the most recent homework assignment in alphabetical order by last name. He then quickly organized the classroom, returning all of his quills into a straight line at the top-right corner of his desk, dusting the chalk off his erasers, and making sure no one left anything behind. This time, he noticed Dimitri left one of his books behind. Byleth didn't feel as if he needed an excuse to talk to his student, the house leader now less, but now he was given one. He placed it in the pocket of his cloak with the hand that wasn't holding the latest assignment before walking out. 

He met Hilda in the gardens, finding her at a table in the far corner, a tall cart of sweets next to her. 

"Professor!" She squealed, raising a hand in the air so that Byleth could see her. He stalked to what was now their corner, and sat down across from her. 

"Hilda," he said, "apologies for my lateness."

"You have no need to apologize, Professor," she said, smiling at him. "I believe you came in at the perfect time." Hilda set their teacups in front of them. "Now tell me, Professor, what type of tea do you drink?"

"Black would be preferable."

"You know," Hilda began, with a look that Byleth would characterize as sly, almost. "I had a feeling you would say that..." she trailed off, opening the palm of her hand to reveal a black tea bag. "I got you the last one."

Byleth hummed, plucking the tea bag out of her hand. "You are too kind, Hilda," he said, looking up at her, "thank you." Hilda was glad he expressed gratitude, as his face didn't show it. 

"Of course!" She retracted her hand and dug around the cart, grabbing a plate of cookies from it. "Personally, I'm not fond of such bitter flavor, but whatever pleases you is most important."

"Yes, well, it is an acquired taste," he said absentmindedly, reaching for the tea pot. 

"Oh!" Hilda exclaimed, causing Byleth to look up at her with caution. She rose from her seat, walking around to Byleth's end. She reached over greatly for the teapot, so much so that her torso obstructed Byleth's view of the other end of the table. She inched in more as Byleth leaned away from her, standing upright once she grabbed the pot. 

"Please, Professor," she said in a husky tone that Byleth had yet to hear from her, pouring the hot water into his teacup. "Allow me."

Byleth suppressed a shudder best he could, and coughed to cover it for extra measure. "Thank you once more, Hildebrand."

"Hilda," she corrected, returning to her seat. "I can't stand my full name."

"Might I ask why?" Byleth put the teabag in the water. "It means battle sword, does it not> Very fitting for a student such as yourself."

"Almost," she mused, pouring water into her own cup. "My boon lies with the axe."

"Really?" Byleth said, astounded by the revelation. "You struck me as a healer, initially."

For whatever reason, Hilda's breath was caught in her throat at the implication, even if he had his reasons for thinking it. After all, healers didn't do much but wave their arms around whenever someone got hurt. If they didn't know any reason magic, they would remain on the sidelines for the entire battle as well. Regardless, she quickly gathered herself and said, "Oh really? And what, praytell, gave you that impression?"

"You seem caring," Byleth shrugged, surprising Hilda with his answer. "The sort of person that always looks to help her peers."

"Oh," Hilda ducked her head as she felt the blush creeping its way across her face. She supposed she wasn't used to new people that did not know her yet. "I can understand where you're coming from..." she shook her head. "But no, Professor, I wish to be a warrior one of these days."

Byleth made a sound of interest through a full mouth of a scone, giving Hilda the floor to speak. So she spoke of her origins, her home in Goneril, and how she never did much of anything in her youth as everything she wanted was brought to her. 

"Truthfully, Professor, I'm not used to hearing 'no'."

"Well," Byleth breathed, placing down a now empty cup. "You have a month to hear that from me." He patted his mouth with a napkin before folding it carefully onto the table. "I must return to my classroom, but I thank you for your time," Byleth bowed his head, before standing from the table to turn back into the buildings.

* * *

"By the Goddess," Hilda cried, "I just can't get it right..."

For the third time that week, Hilda failed to make progress with the sword. 

"You just need more practice," Byleth consoled. "May I suggest actually fighting with it, sometime?"

Hilda giggled. "I suppose I could, but..." she trailed off, sighing lazily. 

"Why don't you practice with Felix?" Byleth asked. "He would love to spar with someone new."

"Ugh, that brute?" Hilda's nose wrinkled in disgust. "I would rather complete my own homework assignment than..." Hilda noted Byleth's quirked eyebrow. "I mean, I simply prefer to not spar with him. In fact, Professor, why not I learn from you?"

"You are already learning from me," Byleth said plainly. "Why not Ashe?" He then asked, "he's another sword user within the House."

Hilda waved her hand around as if she could wave Ashe out of Byleth's mind. "He is too focused on bows, swords are more of his last resort. I would get more out of a match with a true master."

Byleth turned to the blackboard, frowning. "Hilda, I am no master." He sighed. "But if that is your wish, meet me in the Drill Grounds on Sunday, and I will show you the way of the sword."

Hilda smiled widely, and resisted from squeezing her teacher right then and there. Instead, she said, "Thank you, Professor!" and turned to walk out the classroom. 

Byleth was already in the Drill Grounds when Hilda arrived. She found him in his usual attire, inspecting some training swords. Suddenly, Byleth's head snapped up, as if someone had alerted him of Hilda's presence. 

"Ah," he said, standing upright. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, Professor," Hilda replied, "I am ready to watch!"

"Watch?" Byleth's brows furrowed. "You are misunderstood," he held out a practice sword to her, "we are to spar."

"But," Hilda sharply inhaled. "I don't feel like it."

Byleth retracted the sword, crossing his arms. "Becoming a dancer will not be in your future at all if you do not practice," he said, voice unwavering. "Nor will your chances of passing the exam to become a pegasus knight, either."

"If this isn't what you want, of course," Byleth continued after a beat of pause, "than I can change your focus to something you will actually work towards." He let his shoulders rise and fall, an expectedly flippant action of him. "What will you do?"

Hilda glared at the sky above her, arms crossed in thought. After making a show of rolling her eyes, and stomping her feet, she huffed out a "Fine," and grabbed the sword out of Byleth's hand. 

With that, the two went to opposite corners and Byleth went over the rules as he always did. 

"No attacks to the face or neck-" 

Hilda scoffed. "I'm not like those boys you teach, Professor."

Byleth sighed. "First on the ground or caught in a fatal position loses." Byleth steadied himself into position, prompting Hilda to do the same. 

"Remember, Hilda," he said, "your right hand needs to be before the left, and hold the sword above your shoulder so that you are always prepared to strike." 

Hilda made the changes as her teacher saw fit, then looked back up at him with a nod. "Ready."

Hilda wished she stayed in her quarters today.

"On my mark," Byleth murmured. In that moment, Hilda forgot she was about to spar with a man she was so entranced on. She watched his face stiffen in concentration as she mentally prepared himself to battle. Reflexes were on her side as she successfully deflected Byleth's first attack, and countered it with one of her own. 

The teacher and his student went on like this for a while, strategically hitting and avoiding attacks from one another. Sometime later, Hilda started to wear down. Albeit swords were lighter than axes, Hilda had yet to become accustomed to its foreign weight. As she tried to roll away from one of Byleth's attacks, he managed to get her with enough force to knock her down. 

"Hey!" 

Hilda looked up to find her opponent towering over her. "I'm sorry," he said, offering his hand. Hilda took it and was gently pulled back to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she replied, dusting off her uniform. "Tired, if anything. How have you not yet broken a sweat?"

Byleth reached to take the sword back, and Hilda handed it to him. "How long have you been a mercenary, anyway?" 

Byleth inspected the swords once more. Hilda figured they had been rushed through their lifespan with frequent use. "A while," he said finally. 

"How long is a while?" She asked again. "Since you were a teenager?"

"A while," Byleth repeated. The church bell sounded, and Byleth's head perked up at the sound. "I'm sure the mess hall is serving lunch by now," he said, "why don't we stop here today."

Hilda crossed her arms and huffed again. "Professor..."

"Rest up," he said, already turning to walk away from her. "I shall see you soon."

* * *

Two weeks later, Byleth found himself working late into the night. With the end of month fast approaching, Byleth had to prepare for the next battle he would be taking his students of the Blue Lions (plus Hilda) on. This was also the night Byleth would spend worrying if he had properly prepared his students, or if he wasted a month just trying his best. Byleth was never much of a drinker, even in his days as a merc. But times like these were when he wished for ale the most. 

A knock on the door removed Byleth from his thoughts, causing him to jump. Almost no one was up at this hour. If they were, no one was looking for anyone in particular, especially not Byleth. He put his cloak back over his shoulders as he walked to answer the door. 

"Hilda?" He said in shock once he opened the door. "You understand the lateness of the hour, don't you?"

"Don't you?" She rebutted. "I would think you would at least be in your quarters by now."

He shook his head. Her eyes looked up at him with concern, looking for something. "What do you need?" He pressed. 

Hilda squeezed past the small gap between Byleth and the other double door, entering the classroom uninvited. "I'm much too nervous for my Certification Exam tomorrow."

"So nervous it drove you to move this far to simply talk to me about it?" Byleth joked dryly. Hilda glared at the usually stoic faced, now painted with minor amusement. 

"Would it be alright to review the material once more?"

Byleth looked over at the candle lighting a desk scattered with papers and maps, and back to his student, who looked at him with pleading eyes. "Alright," he said. Hilda's hands clasped together and she smiled, then went to her desk, grabbing books and opening them up to different pages. Byleth grabbed a chair and sat it across from her, waiting to answer her questions and clarify any misconceptions. 

"I think that's all," Hilda said eventually, closing a textbook. Byleth nodded, and rose from his seat. 

"Very well, then," he said. "Now you may try to salvage some hours of sleep before dawn." Byleth turned to go back to his desk, as his work was still far from over. 

"Professor, wait," she said. He turned back to her, wordlessly.

"Um," she stammered, toying with the ends of her hair. "I just wanted to thank you for taking me on as your student this past month. I learned a lot from you, and it was truly a pleasure." 

She looked up at Byleth then, and she was met with him staring down at her, his stern expression still unchanged. 

"And," she continued, "during this month I have...developed feelings for you, and..." Hilda felt heat rise to her face. She did not dare to look at Byleth then. "And I will miss you deeply, knowing that I won't be able to get you off my mind."

"Hilda," Byleth tried, though he did not know what to say after that. Still, Hilda shushed him. She looked up at him once more, before taking her hand to palm his crotch. 

"I want you, Professor."

A half beat of pause passed over between the two. Hilda didn't feel anything. Byleth inhaled sharply, grabbing her wrist. 

"This isn't covered in the curriculum," he said as he dropped her wrist on the desk between them. This time, Hilda was almost afraid to look at him, especially knowing he was waiting for her to meet his eye. But when she did, she still found that Byleth's expression remained unchanged. 

"For both my sake and yours, we won't ever talk about this," he said, briskly walking back to his desk. "You are to finish the month with my students, and after that your life will go back to normal." He sat down and consulted the mess on his desk once more. "You may go now."

Yet, Hilda remained glued to her seat, her hand laying numb atop the table. She mumbled out apologies as she pushed her chair back, the scraping of the wood against the stone floor easily drowning out her voice. Her feet dragged as she went for the door, feebly wishing her teacher a good night as she left the room. He did not look once.

**Author's Note:**

> a few things:
> 
> \- a good three hours into writing this i decided that i did not want hilda to be the subject in this, as i don't think her (or anyone else in the officer's academy, with the exception of manuela perhaps) would do something like this. however, i did not feel like making an oc, nor did i feel like rewriting anything to make necessary changes, and hilda would try it to get out of doing work maybe but all in jest. it was also then i had the idea to write this but with bylass & lorenz  
> \- i am in a discord chat that had a headcanon that hilda's name was short for hildegarde or hildebrand or something like that (and she hates it), and i really caught onto it, as apparently hildebrand means 'battle sword'  
> \- i think you can recruit students for a month? i saw that somewhere  
> \- tea sessions are the extent of byleth's social outings  
> \- hilda was a dancer in the ign video showing off all classes and in reality even post time skip she may be too lazy to dance for her allies but that is the reason for her picking up the sword. she is also a pegasus knight bc the ign class video portrayed her as such. she's more likely to be a pegasus knight so she doesn't have to move across the battlefield  
> \- this is my first time posting fanfiction since 2012, and my first time publicly posting my writing since 2015, so i am kind of scared and hesitant to put this up  
> \- i made a psued so my 2014 emo ass username wouldn't pop up but you really can't escape your past, can you? also so i can have separation between my works and my reading  
> \- i have more ideas for three houses fics so if you liked this one, stay tuned. if you didn't like this one, stay tuned as i have ideas that....aren't like this lol  
> \- anyway, thank you for reading, now i shall go catch up on all of the other three houses fics that have been posted between the time i started writing it to the time i actually get around to posting it. once again, shout out to the artists that inspired this to happen.


End file.
